What Strange Is
by x-LiveFantasy-x
Summary: I'm Mabyn. My friends and I have been abused by doctors and lived in a lab our whole lives. But here's something new: I'm in love against my will, and as I get to know my new family of fifteen, I've realized I may be in over my head.  No Fax - sorry
1. Introduction

**Hey people. This is my second Maximum Ride fanfiction, and I hope it turns out better than the first. I'm reusing some old characters from a deleted story, so don't be surprised to see some familiar names. So rate and review, and remember I DO NOT own Maximum Ride. Rights to MaxRide go to the author. This is the only time I'm making this disclaimer, and it counts for the whole fanfiction, so just remember it. Have fun with it, and I'll try to update often. Thanks.**

I am three months old.

I feel like I'm fourteen, I look like I'm, fourteen, but I'm not.

My whole nightmare started when I wasn't even two hours old. When you could balance me on the pad of your pointer finger. My whole life was decided for me as I grew in a freaking _test tube. _Naturally, I didn't develop a consciousness until I was two - rather, they didn't _let _me develop a consciousness until I was two – so I was completely unaware of anything they were telling me, and all I cared about was when the experiments on me to stop.

When I was four, I made my friends. Snow, my best friend, Patch, my little troublemaker, and Dex, my listener. There were two others. One special – pretty much our leader. One evil – our mental case. I don't talk about them.

When I was five, I learned what love is and who it was I was supposed to love.

Naturally, I didn't like that little detail not one bit.

I became closed off. Defiant. I have scars on my right arm from being hurt so much in the same places because I didn't want to do what I was told.

Yet I longed for something uncontrollably, and I didn't know what it was.

My emotions started getting funny. Scientists blamed it on a malfunction or puberty or something else along those lines. I wasn't as tall as the others or as skinny – another malfunction – and I couldn't run nearly as fast. I was swift only in controlled areas, which was good for evading; not escaping. How many other problems I had, I never knew.

We lost our leader one month before I escaped. He was taken away.

We lost our unstable member after that. He escaped.

It only left us, and I soon would be taken too.

To where, I didn't know.

My name is Mabyn, and my adventure begins at the end.


	2. The Encounter

**Chapter two at *checks clock* 10:24 PM.**

**R&R (and no, not "Rest and Relaxation").**

It starts with me.

I'm sitting with my back on the floor and my hands behind my head, looking up at the ceiling. I can see my warped reflection in the panels: black, messy, curly hair, dark eyes, dark wings flattened behind my back. Each ceiling tile was about five feet five inches long or so, and I wasn't even that tall. A glitch in the genes. If I'd pulled up the dark, simple tee shirt I was wearing and shifted my jeans a little, I would be able to reveal a long scar down my abdomen, where the whitecoats had to insert several air sacs into my system, and they didn't even work like they were supposed to. Another glitch. Who said artificial birthing was perfect? Certainly not the whitecoats who expect me to be perfect in every way.

The floor was cold, the lights were dim, and I could see cameras surrounding me, watching my every move. I looked left and right to make sure my friends were still awake.

Snow was snoozing while leaning on her hands, her chest moving up and down in small puffs. She was so dainty, Snow was, like the stuff she was named for. Her hair was so fair blonde it could be white and her eyes were light blue like mist. She was pretty tall, but then again, all bird kids were tall compared to me. She was roughly my age, but looked about sixteen. Her white wings fluttered as she slept.

I shouldn't complain much, though, I remembered as I turned my head to see Patch making circles on the floor with her finger. Patch was the splicing failure to end all splicing failures. She had one blue eye and one brown eye, and she couldn't see too well out of the brown one. She had a long scar down her cheekbone, going straight through her bad eye but not damaging it. Her wings were both slightly different: one was white with brown edges, the other was brown with white edges. Her hair, though, was a gorgeous honey color, and her smile could light up the room in a second. She didn't look at all menacing.

Dexter, we call him Dex, was at the end, his vision faltering as his body prepared for sleep. He had skin the color of coffee with lots of cream in it and chocolate eyes. His hair was dark and streaked with brown. He never said too much, and he gave the best advice in the world, even though he was only twelve. He had light brown, speckled wings.

Suddenly, the doors were forcibly opened. Two large men in white coats strode straight to my cage. Snow woke with a look of distress on her face, and Patch looked up. Dex was too far off in sleep to revive just yet.

They yanked open the door of my cage and grabbed me by the arm. I didn't dare speak; the whitecoats didn't know I'd learned how to. I tried to struggle, but their grip tightened.

"You're coming with us," One sneered.

_No duh. _I bit my lip to keep from spouting a menagerie of colorful phrases. Usually, according to Snow, I can talk my heart out, but now I had to keep my yap shut.

The dragged me down a long hall and down a few corridors. All the halls looked so similar, I couldn't possibly tell what led where, only that the lead to similar metal hallways. _Where the hell are they taking me? _I thought, my strength dwindling against the two large men.

They brought me up to a door and forced me inside. I fell to my knees with a thud, and before I could recover they slammed the door shut.

Anger welled up inside of me, and with a growl I kicked the wall. Pain shot through my foot, and I gritted my teeth. Pain didn't matter here. Pain never mattered…

It wasn't for another minute or two that I realized I wasn't alone.

I turned my head a little bit and saw that across the room was a guy who was leaning against the wall, just watching me. No surprised look on his face at my frustration. He wasn't a whitecoat; he just wore a dark hoodie and ripped jeans. He had black hair and dark eyes like mine, only mine was curly and his was straight. He was a lot taller than me – by at least ten or eleven inches.

There was another pause, then I said. "Sorry you had to see that,"

He shrugged. "I get it. I'm sure it wasn't the first time."

"I tend to take out my frustration on inanimate objects," A whisper of a smile tugged at the ends of my mouth. "Not a healthy habit." I crossed my arms. "Did _they _hire you to talk to me? If they did, then you can't possibly understand my situation."

"They didn't hire me," He said. "And I'm not here just for the convenience," He looked me straight in the eye and said, "I've been in your situation more times than you can count, and let's say I'm in it again."

"Oh," I said. "So they took you too?"

He waited a moment, then nodded.

"So, you're… like me?" My voice trailed off.

"Depends," He looked me over. "You're a little small for a bird hybrid, aren't you?"

"Thanks for noticing," I rolled my eyes. "There were a few defects in my design. So yeah, I'm short, and I'm not as skinny as everyone else." I lifted up my shirt, showing the long, faded scar on my side. "They had to implant my air sacs because I was born without them, and I have mild asthma. Apparently, instead of having 2 percent bird genes, I have somewhere along the lines of 1.80." I bit my lip. "I'm afraid that they're going to retire me soon. They took our leader away a month or so ago,"

"You talk a lot, don't you?" He lifted an eyebrow. "Reminds me of someone I know."

"So there are more of you?" I asked.

"Lots," He said.

"And everyone has wings?"

"No," He said. "Some do other things," He came closer to her. "Haven't you ever seen another mutant?"

"I'm alone in a room, with my three friends," I said. "I'm only three months old… I've never flown… I've only seen the outside twice, but I learned about it from the whitecoats. The nice ones, they never live too long…"

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Mabyn," I said. "Yours?"

He smirked. "Fang."


	3. The Reveal

**Well, I'm home alone, and scared out of my wits after watching "Top 50 Scariest Movie Scenes". Which reminds me, if the producers of the Maximum Ride movie turn it into a horror, I may shoot my TV screen. I'm deeply against book-to-movie adaptations these days, because these days they SUCK. Don't even get me started on Percy Jackson. Suckiest. Movie. Ever. Harry Potter and Narnia? They're good because they began before 2006 (The funeral year for book-to-movie adaptations). Comment if you agree.**

**R&R**

The world froze. In that moment, when he spoke his name, my life changed. Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, I'm confused about to this day, but it happened nonetheless.

"Fang," I said his name again, and a pang went through my chest. I bit my lip again and said, "Do you know why I was created?"

"I don't even know why _I _was created," He smiled. His face faltered when he realized I was asking an extremely serious question. "No. We all have a different reason."

"I was created, three months ago, to be the perfect match for someone," I said quietly. "Do you by any chance know a fair skinned boy who likes goofing around and is very laid back?"

His face froze. "I… yes, I do."

"That sounds a lot like my friend Snow," I said. "Also, I have a half African American friend who can listen to even my longest rants without becoming annoyed. That's Dex. Perfect for a girl who talks too much," His face looked shocked. "And Patch, she's my little troublemaker. She can turn anything she wants into a weapon, and she knows the best comebacks you'd ever hear. Does that sound familiar for anyone?"

"How…?" He said then his face sneered. "Do you by any chance," He said. "know a guy named Dylan?"

My eyes widened and I looked at my feet, and my reflection in the metal floor. "He was our leader. He always knew what was in the best interest for everyone. We almost escaped… But he went away…" I looked back up. "Do you know him?"

"Know him?" Fang said. He looked down. "He's my number one enemy."

"Why?" I asked.

He looked pained; hurt. "He took the girl I love away from me…" He winced. "I thought he was lying about being made perfectly for her, but…"

"He wasn't lying," I stated clearly. "Dylan never lies." I smiled a little. "At least, he's awful at it, unless your ex-girlfriend made him better,"

His face softened. "She has, if I know her good enough,"

"There was another," I said quickly. "A little boy… He was the cutest little thing… I didn't know him long enough to help him with a name, but he always called himself Cyrus. He used to yell a lot, and get mad so much," I pushed back tears. "Dylan always thought of him as a little brother, and I picked him up as sort of a charity case. I regret that."

"What happened to him?" He asked. But judging on his expression, he knew who Cyrus was made for, and what happened.

"He went insane with anger," I said. "It was awful. He wasn't more than seven or eight – or at least, he looked it, considering we were all made at different points in a three month span and altered to grow at a normal rate from then on. Me and him, we had the same ability."

"What's that?"

"Like crazy amazing telepathic powers," I said. "So far, I can only use them physically, like I can crush a tank using my mind and send out massive waves of energy. But Cyrus, he could read minds, influence people, make people go mad, knock down building without even trying," I took a shaky breath. "So many people died the day he escaped. Whitecoats, experiments in other rooms, interns. He knocked Patch's wing straight off, so they needed to fuse a new one into her… It was the single most horrifying thing I'd ever seen in my entire life. Worse than watching a dismantled brain be dissected…"

"Angel…" he breathed. "She couldn't ever end up like that."

"Unless she's had a mental defect like Cyrus, no," I shook my head. "I became like the leader after Dylan was taken away. I named myself Mabyn because it was the strangest one I'd seen on a whitecoat nametag. I think it's English or Welsh, looking at the girl…" I said. "I didn't love him, but God, I missed Dylan so much. I'm not," I looked up, fighting tears. "I'm not a leader. Not like him." I turned away and looked at the wall behind me, and his reflection behind me. If I wasn't going to cry, he wouldn't see it. "I follow. I help. I was like his right hand man. But I could never take care of Dex and Snow and Patch." I forced a laugh. "I'm awful with kids."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up. He was now next to me, his hand resting on my arm.

"I think I know what you mean," He said.

"So you've connected the dots," I said, turning back. He stepped back a little, so we were separated by about two feet.

"Let me ask you one thing," He said. "If you're defected in many ways, you never talk to whitecoats when they ask you to even though you can recount your entire life to a complete stranger, AND you make decisions on your own without their alteration," he said, weaving the longest sentence I'd ever heard him say. "Then why are you still alive?"

"They think," I said. "That I'm the only thing that can break you. But from what I can see through your inner emotions," I said, adding another ability to my list. "someone's already done that. And I never listen to them, so you have nothing to worry about," There was a silent pause, then I said, "Was it her? She broke your heart because of Dylan?"

He hesitated, then nodded. Suddenly, he laughed once and said, "I have no idea why I'm telling you all this. It could be a trap for all I know."

"I was kind of thinking the same thing," I said. "I'm pretty good at reading emotions, and you seem like the type who doesn't talk much."

"I just," He said. "it's just strange. I wonder…" He trailed off.

"You wonder if your ex felt like this when she met Dylan," I finished.

He nodded again. "Pretty much."

There was kind of an awkward pause, then I said, "I'm going to get out of here, you know. If it kills me or not. I'm bringing my flock with me." I looked at him and said, "Are you the only one who's been captured? Of your flock?"

"I came here alone so they would spare the rest," He said. "They only wanted me here. You're probably the reason why."

"Not the only reason," I said quickly. "Rationally, they would want you here because you're a leader of a rogue flock, be it avians or whatever it is you have, and seeing as your ex-girlfriend runs the other one with Dylan at your side they'd want to try to kill you in order to –" I stopped and clamped a hand over my mouth when I noticed he was smiling. "I'm sorry. Ranting again."

"No, go on," He smirked.

"I'm sorry, it's just…" I said. "I really don't want you to die. And I don't want to die either. So I have to find a way."


	4. The Plan

**Apparently my chapters are long. I didn't realize it until I read them. Hm…**

**R&R**

The door opened, and four whitecoats came in. I took in a breath and looked up at him. "I guess this is it. At least, for a while."

I turned to the whitecoats, but he stopped me by grabbing my wrist. "Wait,"

I could feel the whitecoats growing impatient. "I really –"

"Just listen," He said. "If you do manage to go through with this, remember the number 4869-120."

"What?" I asked.

"Please," He said, and the whitecoats grabbed him by the arms and took him out the door.

They grabbed me too, and brought me down a corridor. One said in my ear, "So you can speak, can't you?"

I didn't breathe a word until they threw me back in the cage and exited out the door. I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my chin on them.

_So, _I thought, _that's the guy I was made to fall in love with… _I couldn't help but think of his face, which sent a pang through my chest.

"Mabyn?" I turned to see Snow clutching the edge of her cage, backing up into mine. Her misty eyes looked concerned. "What happened to you? You look drained out."

"You'll never believe it, Snow," I breathed.

So I told her everything.

The next day was our day of escape.

I hadn't even planned, it, but when they sent in a new intern to take tests on us, I knew what I needed to do.

Intern's minds were so naïve. I bet they even forgot to tell him I was a telepath. Now, I hadn't had mind reading down to an art yet, but I'd tried the basics, and was able to distinct letters A though K and the ten numbers. But the numbers were all I needed.

_-he-e a-e-he e-e-i-e-? _The words made no sense to me, but as he approached my cage he pressed a code into the soundless lock.

_4453-001._

He opened the cage door and pulled out my arm. He gave me an injection and closed it again. He did the same to the other cages.

_5566-897. _Snow. _2800-800. _Patch. _0923-125. _Dex.

The door shut, and I immediately stuck my fingers out and into the keypad. With difficulty, I dialed _4-4-5-3 _and a space, then _0-0-1. _The lock clicked, and I opened the door. I looked up and cursed under my breath. Security cameras.

_Could I reach that far? _I thought, looking at my hand. I extended my senses so thin that it covered the whole room. I began to clench my fist, and the camera began to crumple, like a tin can. Suddenly, it imploded in a shower of metal, plastic, and glass.

"Mabyn?" Patch asked, concerned. "What the hell are you _doing?"_

I ignored her and busted out of my cage door. I swiftly typed in a number on Snow's cage, and opened the door. Same with Patch.

By the time I woke up Dex and entered his number, though, sirens began to wail.

"Come on guys!" I said. "I have to go get someone."


	5. The Escape

**Watching **_**The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian**_**. I really want to read it, but sadly, I've only read the first book.**

**R&R.**

We booked down the hall, passing countless doors. I checked every one for another mutant holding chamber, but saw nothing. Then, I came across a room, and I saw Fang sitting in a cage, his eyes closed as he leaned against the back. I pushed open the door and made my way inside. I realized his cage was the only one in the small room, and the label on the top of his cage said _INTELLIGENCE. _Apparently that's a bad thing. I ran to his cage and plugged in the numbers _4-8-6-9_ space _1-2-0, _and the lock opened.

I shook his shoulder, and his eye popped open. He sat upright and looked at me, a look of relief crossing his face. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you,"

"Come on," I pulled him up and out of the cage and dragged him over to where Snow, Patch, and Dex were waiting. "Fang, this is Snow, Patch, and Dexter."

"Pleasure," Snow smiled. Fang looked a little shocked; he'd definitely seen someone like her before.

"You're skin's too pale, you know that?" Patch lifted an eyebrow. "She turned down the hall and yelled, "INCOMING!"

I tore down the hall, the others in my wake and turned at the end of a hall to see two doors with a large EXIT sign above. I reached my telepathy into the bolt and unlocked them just before I knocked my shoulder into them and bashed them open.

We escaped into the sunlight, and I unfurled my dark wings and leaped upwards, pumping them down and up fast until I was airborne.

I looked back and saw that the others were following me, and that whitecoats were in their wake. _Where are all the Flyboys? _I thought as the school became farther and farther away.

"This is amazing!" Patch cried, spiraling behind me and almost taking out Snow to the left.

"Watch it!" Snow complained as she swerved out of Patch's way.

I closed my eyes and coasted along the breeze. My hair kept getting in my face, but I didn't care. Sunlight poured over us, and over the landscape below.

I felt free for the first time in my entire life.

"First time flying?" I was surprised by Fang's voice. He coasted next to me, and I could hear him surprisingly well even though the air was whistling through my ears.

"I told you that already," I said.

"I could still tell," He smiled a little. "You can barely keep your wings straight."

"Yeah well," I shrugged. "That's how it goes."

"You'll be doing a lot more of it now," He said.

"So where is your flock now?" I asked.

"I've been gone two weeks," He said. "Considering I wasn't there, Max and Maya probably killed each other and left Iggy to lead. Or worse, Gazzy."

"I take that as a bad thing?" I asked.

"You should," He said. "They're hunkering down in LA and I put Ratchet in charge. It's only a matter of time until everything blows up in our faces…"

"That bad, huh?" I asked.

"As if my ex-girlfriend and her clone under one roof wasn't bad enough, but Angel is gone, Gazzy is losing it, Star and Nudge are always fighting, and Dylan – that flawless jerk – is slowly stealing Max's heart," He said. "And now, she hates me for befriending her clone. She thinks I'm replacing her, but honestly…" His voice trailed off.

"What?" I asked.

"Honestly," He said. "I brought Maya because I couldn't lead a flock on my own."

"So you don't love her?" I asked her.

"Love her?" Fang looked forward. "No. She's one of my best friends now, but I'm not sure I can face loving the same girl twice, even if Maya does have her own personality," He breathed a small sigh, his expression unchanging. "Max thinks she doesn't know me anymore, but the truth is I kept a lot of myself closed from her the fourteen years I'd known her. I've started talking more and sharing what I'm thinking," He turned to me. "Is that such a bad thing?"

"I certainly do it all the time," I shrugged.

"People always thought of me like a rock – emotionless," He said. "But no matter how much I try to hide it, I'm 98% human, and humans have emotions."

"I get it," I said. "Sometimes I feel like I have to say something and I can't find the words to say it. Then, other times, all my thoughts – even my innermost ones that I never feel like discussing – come pouring out. I think you and Max's relationship was strictly "I speak you listen" status, and when you started talking and sharing your feelings, she was a little taken aback. If I know Dylan, then Max is strong, brave, witty, and has a humungous emotional dam that wells up the Pacific Ocean of feelings, and it has a serious crack in it." I turned to him. "Let's face it: Dylan is the only one who can repair those cracks. I've seen him do it with Cyrus, only Cyrus had the Lake Superior of anger and when Dylan left, it collapsed. Don't let that happen to Max."

"Good metaphors," He said. "Jeb would be proud of that."

"Who?" I asked, but he waved it off.

"No one," He said. "I'm not so sure how trustworthy I am of Dylan just yet, though."

"Trust me, he's the good guy to end all good guys," I said. "We were made for this purpose, and trust me I know," I bit my lip. "Well, I know what he's thinking now."

"I've wondered about that since the moment I met Dylan," He turned to me. "How does that work, exactly?"

"I have no idea," I said. "I didn't feel anything, not one thing, until I met you. They gave me your name, your picture, everything, and then it was nothing. Actually, I think for me it's gradual. I'm not feeling _that _much yet." I turned and saw him suppressing a smile. "What's so funny?" I protested.

"Nothing. I just feel flattered that they were willing to hardwire a girl to love me too." He said. My mouth dropped open, and I wanted to say something in protest, but I couldn't. Way to go, mouth.


	6. The Cave

**I am DEEPLY sorry for not updating sooner. My fanfiction account wouldn't let me log in. I hate technology. Luckily, I'm able to write in advance. Also, I'm simultaneously watching House of Anubis premier and studying for a French test, so many apologies if this isn't my finest work…**

**R&R**

"Cave sweet cave," Patch' bare foot touched down onto the stone ledge and she winced. "AH! Cold!"

"Well it _is _January," Snow pointed out, balancing herself after excessive flying. She leaned against the wall. "I think this is a good spot to make camp. Anyone know how to make a fire?" Patch's hand shot up, and Snow held her forehead and said, "_Not _one that involves chemicals, Patch!"

"I can," Fang volunteered. "Patch, can you tell the difference between live wood and dry wood?"

"Don't insult me," She smirked. "I can take a twig and make a fire taller than you."

"NO CHEMICALS," Snow elaborated with exasperation. "Remember what happened LAST time you had access to chlorine?"

"Yeah," Patch muttered, unfurling her wings again. She looked back before she jumped off. "We almost escaped…"

Snow bit her lip, looked away, and strode off into the cave with Dex. I could feel that she was hurt. That's the thing about snow; her pride is easily hurt.

"What happened?" Fang asked. "You know, to Patch? How'd she end up like that?"

"She was a defect from the start," I sighed, sitting with my legs dangling over the edge of the ledge. He joined me after a moment. "She was born blind in one eye, and they later replaced it. She got slashed by a Flyboy when she was two – or a week and a half old, whatever you want to call it – and has her scar. She was born with no kidneys and her heart wasn't right, so they gave her new ones. I told you already that in the siege when Cyrus escaped one of her wings was torn off and she got a new one," I shook my head. "The sad thing is, she could have been gorgeous. Her hair is like spun gold, and her smile…"

"Gazzy'll like her for sure," Fang laughed once. "She sure seems like his type."

"Who's Gazzy?" I asked.

"The Gasman," He said. "He's nine and seems just like her. He's got blonde hair and huge blue eyes, and clings to my friend Iggy like lint. He and Iggy make explosives together." He turned his head back in front, towards the horizon. "What's up with Dex? He never talks."

"That's because he wasn't meant to," I said. "He was born without vocal cords – heck, he was born without a lot of organs in his throat area – and they didn't implant them until recently. He barely knows anything but how to speak some phrases."

"Seems like a lot of stuff went wrong with you guys," He said, his eyes lingering on the area of my shirt that covers my scar. "Snow and Dylan were the only good ones in the batch? Viable ones?"

"Snow is fine," I said. "but it was Dylan I was always worried about."

This got his attention. "Why?"

"When we were created, they wanted to make our development as fast as possible," I said. "So we aged from age zero to ages fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, nine, and eight, in three months. Then they gave us an extra gene that stopped our rapid growth and made it so that we aged regularly from then on. It took me a little less than a week to turn fourteen, but it'll take me a year to turn fifteen."

"So?" He asked.

"So," I said. "Dylan never got that gene. Dr. Gunther-Hagen stole him from the School before they could administer it."

"Wait – Dr. Hans _stole _him from the School?" Fang's head snapped to face her, his eyes wide.

"You don't honestly think Dr. Gunther-Hagen was authorized to take Max's soulmate out of the School before his tests are done? Dylan was supposed to stay in for at least another two or three months, and the board declined his proposal to take him out early."

"So what you're saying is –"

"Yes," I said. "Dylan has an expiration date."

"How, though?" He asked. "Dylan's a clone."

"Doesn't matter." I said. "What I know is that Dylan is currently aging more than ten times as fast as a normal human being." I shook my head. "The effects may have slowed by now, but he still should be around thirty something. On the inside, at least."

"Inside?"

"The gene automatically stops altering exterior features after being two months off it, but his insides are still aging fast, and if he doesn't get it soon, he may die." I bit my lip. "He has six months, maximum, depending on the effects, which vary greatly." I glanced at him. "But then, that's good news for you. When he's gone, you can have Max back."

He looked forward, mixed feelings emanating from him, and didn't say a word. We sat in silence, facing the sun, and the tension was relieved when I saw a little dot in the sky in the distance. It formed a shape as it got closer, and soon Patch touched down, dry wood in the crook of her arm.

Soon, night fell. Fang managed to get a fire going (did he have a lighter or something?) and Patch was conked out in the back leaning on Dex. It couldn't have been later than six or seven o'clock, but their internal clocks were thrown off due to lack of sunlight their entire short lives. Don't ask me how that works, but when you can't see the sun, you can't tell what's day and what's night.

Fang was stoking the fire, and I could feel his continuing soupy mix of emotions overflowing in his head. I wondered if he was always like this, and if so he had a good way of hiding it. Sitting next to the fire, he looked so stoic, but his eyes told the story. Those amazing dark eyes…

I shoved that thought from my head. I couldn't help thinking that I shouldn't even be thinking those thoughts, well, if the whitecoats hadn't programmed me to. I looked at Snow, who was lounging against the wall, her legs sprawled in front of her as her vision faltered. Would she think the same things of the guys Fang knows who could be her match? What if he loves someone else? That sent a pain through my chest. I certainly had to meet this Max girl to see what she was all about.


	7. The Meeting

**Had a class trip to the Philadelphia Art Museum today! I wish we'd gone down to Fairmount Park, though, one of my favorite places in Philly. We did the Rocky Run (yeeeessssss!). Also, some people have been asking too how Mabyn is pronounced. It's pronounced May (like the month) bin (like the container). Not Ma-ben. It's Welsh, I believe.**

**By the way, thanks Onyx Shadows for being the first to review. Keep the feedback coming everyone!**

**R&R**

As soon as the sky got light, we were off to Los Angeles.

Good news: I knew that the School we'd been stowed away in was one near Palm Springs, California, so we weren't too far from LA.

Bad news: Even I knew that flying in public places was a no-no. So we flew all the way to Santa Ana, and had to make our way into the center of the city. Either on foot or in a cab, which generally didn't seat five, considering Snow and Fang are reaching and/or over six feet tall.

Long story (which involves squeezing into a cab and mercilessly ditching the cabbie four blocks down with our enhanced avian-American speed which put our anonymity in jeopardy while also having to stop every six seconds for directions) short, we made it to the building where Fang's combined flock was staying. Fang was a total emotional mess on the inside, only showing slight worry on the outside.

"Are you okay?" I asked him as we went into the lobby.

"Fine," he cleared his throat and cleared some stuff up with the desk person. Once they were done, he flashed his key and said, "Let's go."

Dex somehow developed a hatred for elevators, so he was a mess the whole ride up. Patch kept jumping up and down at the end to see if she could really feel weightless.

"So, if this one big flock or two? I'm not too clear on that." I said to Fang.

"Supposed to be two. But we teamed up on a mission and ended up together," He said. "I'll fill you in later. Right now," He looked down at her as the doors opened. "Prepare for what could possibly be chaos."

We walked down the hallway, and Fang pulled out his key on room 809.

He put it in the slot. The lock clicked, and he pushed the door open.

Chaos was a total, major understatement.

Kids everywhere; I counted about eleven of them. Their ages varied from nine to like fourteen or fifteen or so, and they were all in some sort of fight. A girl who kind of looked like Dex was yelling at a tall, lithe Asian girl, while a blonde girl with sort of the same color hair as Snow and shocking blue eyes stood between them. Something told me the blonde wasn't usually the one breaking up the fights. A ratty looking street boy with awesome spray-painted headphones was having a half argument half loud and friendly conversation with a small boy with blonde hair and huge blue eyes who looked about nine-ish, with a tall, lanky pale boy joining in at odd intervals. There was a small boy in the back who looked out of place in all this, sitting on a bed watching TV.

The worst of it, though, was two girls who looked like twins. Completely identical in every way; the only distinction as that one had a pink streak in her sun-streaked hair and they wore completely different styles in clothes. They were screaming at each other, using their hands to talk and showing off their extremely colorful vocabulary.

"GUYS!" Fang's voice boomed over theirs, and the room fell quiet. In one united motion, every head turned to Fang and all of us, puzzled and relieved looks rippling through the crowd.

"Fang, man, you're back!" The street boy gave him a whap on the back. "Where've you been? Thank God you're here," He pointed at the twins. "They were gonna knock down the whole building!"

"Was not!" The two girls said at the same time, with the same menacing look, and turned towards each other, exchanging sneers.

"Max, Maya, _calm down,_" I heard a voice say from inside. For a split second I'd realized that one of these girls was the Max who'd left fang for our leader, and one was Maya, her clone. But which one was which?

I was too busy, though, racking through my brain to figure out why I recognized that voice. It wasn't until he stepped in, though that I realized who it was.

A shocked look came on Dylan's face when he saw me. _"Mabyn?"_

"In the flesh," I came up with. Good job, brain.

The twin with the regular blonde hair turned to him, her mouth open. "Do you _know _this girl?" She turned to Fang, confusedly. "Fang, what's going on here?"

"I think you should ask them that," Fang gestured to us.

So I told them.

"So," I'd learned that the regular blonde was Max, and the pink-streaked one was Maya. This was Maya talking. "You're… like Dylan? Programmed to love someone?"

"We're also technically only three months old," Snow pointed out.

"So that makes you, like, babies?" Star – the other blonde with the icy blue eyes – asked.

"We were given a gene to accelerate growth, and were given the countergene when the three month mark came," I flashed a look at Dylan. He looked down immediately. "So we age normally now."

"And what are your names?" Kate, the Asian girl, asked. "Like, all of you."

"Well, I'm Mabyn," I said. I pointed to Dex, and he waved. "That's Dexter, or Dex, as we call him. He doesn't talk too much."

"I'm Patch!" Patch said boldly. She pointed at Ratchet's headphones. "I like your headphone. Would you bet 'em in a game of poker, maybe?"

"No way, chica," Ratchet said. He pointed to Gazzy, the little angelic looking boy with the devious eyes. "I've already lost forty bucks to Gasser."

"And this is Snow," I put my hand on Snow's shoulder. She smiled warmly, yet unsurely. I'd seen her sneak a glance at Iggy, the pale one like her, but I could tell she was undecided.

"So, like, who's made for who?" Nudge asked. "There's only four – well, five counting Dylan – of you."

"I don't think any were made for the Gen 77's, or at least, none we've seen. They're all avians," Fang said. "I think they're for the original flock."

"No offense," Maya looked us over and smiled. "but it's kind of obvious who's for who." For some reason, her eyes lingered on me for a moment, then dropped to the floor. Maybe Maya DID have some feelings for Fang after all.

"Are they going to be living with us?" Gazzy asked hopefully, eyeballing Patch quickly from the side.

"Duh," Kate said. "We're building an army flock, right?"

"Quarters are close," Max said. "We'll definitely need some cots."

Ratchet groaned. "If I ask the front desk for one more cot, I'm 'fraid they'll slit my throat."

"Don't be a baby," Star retorted. Kate shot her a glance, as if to say: _Not again, Star._


	8. The Night

**I've got hip-hop class tonight, so this chapter may not be the best. Although I do live Patch and Gazzy together. Pretty cute :) Oh, and iTunes nearly crashed my computer. Great…**

**R&R.**

This was my first night away from the School.

I stared at the ceiling, my hands behind my head. I could feel everyone around me, but it was strange. I couldn't feel too many emotions anymore, and thoughts were becoming more muddled. I was worse than when I started! I don't know if powers can be disconnected, and I sure hope not.

I wasn't the only one awake. Next to me, who I saw had just awoken, was the other Max. Was Maya her name? Yeah, it was. She rolled and saw me. "You're awake too?"

"Yeah," I sat up, and she did too. "I never sleep too well,"

She smirked. "I can relate. I was introduced to the world at about three months too,"

"Cloning is easier than creating an entire human being in three months," I shrugged.

"Nah, it's actually kinda the same," She said. "You start with an embryo either way. It not like they scan someone and make a carbon copy in a few hours." She smirked. "So, you'll be staying with the flock for a while?"

"A long while, probably," I said. "I mean, we can't take care of ourselves. At least, Patch and Dex can't. I've had a few nice scientists in the past who taught me about survival and life and all the important things, even some who brought me outside to train every now and again. Dr. Gunther-Hagen did that for me a lot, before he took Dylan and left. And besides, I think everyone's starting to imprint on each other. No chance they're gonna want to leave now."

"And you?" She asked. "Do you want to stay just because of Fang?"

"I'm not sure yet," I said. "I always figured the imprint would be instantaneous, like love at first sight, but apparently that's not in most cases," I looked over into a corner and smiled. Patch and Gazzy were curled up next to each other asleep, sharing a pair of earbuds from Iggy's iPod. "Although Gazzy and Patch seem to be cozying up to each other,"

"It's pretty freaking adorable," Maya nodded. She shook her head though. "None of them trust me, though. I don't know what else to do. I've already saved their sorry asses about ten times in the last month or so. And now that Angel's gone, Max is all up in Fang's business about leaving her – by a_ccident – _back in Paris, and Nudge, though her intentions are good, are going to send Star over the edge."

"How do you fit into all this?" I asked.

"Simple: I don't," She bit her lip. "I'm not supposed to exist, but because the whitecoats thought it was a good idea for me to replace her."

"The only reason I exist is do break someone's heart, and thus their spirit," I said. "But… I don't want to. In fact, I'm not sure I want to fall in love at all! But facing the facts, it's inevitable."

"What about Snow and Iggy?" She said. "He's already taken by Max's sister Ella,"

"No idea," I shook my head. "Usually, after Snow imprints, he should warm up to her automatically."

"Like Max and Dylan?" She asked. "Only minus the heartbroken denial?"

"Sort of," I said. "So if Iggy's already in love with Ella, I don't know what will happen. Is Ella human?"

"Entirely," Maya said. "Which makes me wonder if they could have kids one day."

"Well, I'm not entirely sure that avians are fertile," I scratched my chin.

She snapped her head towards me. "What?"

"Shhh!" I said, gesturing to the others, who were still sleeping. I brought the decibel level down a notch and said, "I have a theory. Something so simple the scientists may have overlooked it,"

"Not surprising," She muttered.

"Well, one of the nicer whitecoats – Nadia, was her name; she was my favorite – taught me about what she calls the Mule theory. Mules are the result of combining the DNA of a horse and the DNA of a donkey, but they are incapable of mating with donkeys, horses, or mules, or with any species at all. I figure it may be the same with mutants like us."

"How do you know this for sure?"

"I don't, because no experiments I know have lived long enough to mate," I said. "But Erasers never mated,"

"I never really thought about that…" Maya's face contorted in thought.

There was a stirring next to us, and Kate and Snow both awoke, yawning. Snow said, "Wow, do you guys ever sleep?"

"Not much," I shrugged.

"Well, get some rest," Kate said with a tired smile. "Seriously, we're going into the city tomorrow for answers. And maybe some sightseeing. You'll need it."


	9. The City

**Well, its 10:17 PM here in the good state of New Jersey, and tomorrow holds only this for me: STUDY FOR THE FREAKING MIDTERMS. Midterms are a plot made by teachers to destroy a student's brain so they can cram more stuff in it before the end of the year.**

**Also, if you do read this, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW because I can't know if this is getting popular or not if you don't! Thanks so much, and happy belated Christmahanukwanza.**

**R&R PLEASE!**

An arm shook me awake, and as soon as my eyes opened my vision was flooded with sunlight. I shielded my eyes, and when I blinked I looked up and saw (with a miniature heart attack) that it was Fang who woke me up. Yeah, I was pretty sure the imprint was kicking in, and kicking in HARD.

He smirked and offered me a hand. "Vampire much?"

I took it and he helped me up. "Look who's talking,"

Everyone was getting dressed. Max had lent Snow a t-shirt that was too pink for her to even consider wearing, and some jeans, and Dex was wearing a graphic tee and cargo pants combo. Patch was wearing her regular white tee that she had from the School (which had miraculously survived the trip here) with some jean Bermuda shorts and an oversized windbreaker. I realized then how dirty my clothes were, and there was a huge tear down the back where it caught on a rock in the cave.

"Do you need to borrow any clothes?" Kate asked.

"I'm not sure any of it will fit me, considering I'm the only short hourglass shaped fourteen eyar old avian around here," I said.

"Well here, try some of my stuff," Nudge offered. Nudge was two years younger than me and much taller, but she handed me a black blouse and some torn jeans – which was justified in my book, because I loved torn things. Surprisingly, they fit just fine, only Maya had to help me shear off the ends because they were too long. She also provided me with a pair of black flats, which she'd put a strap on a while ago to keep from falling off in midair (that would be most unfortunate to anyone standing under said falling shoe).

When I stepped out of the room, Nudge looked me over, impressed, but Star pushed past her and grabbed a comb. "You're clothes are presentable, but your hair's a rat's nest. Let me."

Star, according to Kate, had magic fingers when it came to hair. Not only because she could to it super fast, because of her DNA, but she grew up posh and girly, so this stuff was second nature. Soon, Star had my hair looking great (shiny, too, which it would have been anyway if not for the constant dirt that's always in it). I could actually tell there were curls now!

"Lucky girl," Star said. "I would _kill _for hair like this."

_Feel free. It's a constant frizzy mess anyway. _I thought with a smile as I exited the bathroom.

Everyone was up and ready now, and all fifteen of us exited. Something told me an extra room might have been needed soon. I glanced over and saw Dylan talking to Max, who was smiling and blushing. I could tell they were desperately trying to keep from holding hands (which to Max, I could tell, was not a term of endearment she preferred). I was just thankful that Dylan was alive, still.

For how long, though, I couldn't fathom.

"Sleep well?" With a jolt I realized that Fang had appeared next to me, usually in the fashion I usually did to other people.

I let out a breath and said, "Okay, I guess. You?"

"I never sleep too well," He said. "But I guess you know that too. I heard you talking to Maya at 3 AM last night. I guess that's just something else we have in common."

"I guess," I said as we entered the elevator hallway.

It was that moment when I realized that I was breaking. My will was faltering. He was getting to me, and he wasn't even trying! I bit my lip, and tried to stop thinking about the whole _I'm inevitably going to fall for this guy _problem and tried to focus on the elevator wall in front of me, which was hard because it was reflective and I couldn't help but look at his reflection.

We had to go down in two groups, and when we got in the lobby, Max quieted us all down.

"Okay, guys, we're splitting into groups, so 1) we can cover more ground and 2) because we're getting to be a really big group. Capiche?" We all nodded, and she continued. "Iggy, Gazzy, Patch, Snow, Ratchet, group 1. Kate, Mabyn, Fang, and Maya, group 2. Dylan, Dex, Nudge, Holden, Star, and I, group 3. Group 1 will take the center city, group 2 will take downtown, group 3 will take uptown. Remember guys: sightseeing, even if it is a _little _tempting," She threw a glance at Nudge, "is irrelevant to our goal and that's to find dirt on the DG, and leads on where to find Jeb and Dr. Martinez and Ella. We meet back here in three hours."

"Three hours?" I asked. "Will that be enough time?"

"With our powers and skill combined scouring every corner of LA," Kate said. "we could get this done and have pizza too."

"Fang, you're in charge of group 2," Max said. "Kate, keep him in line," Kate beamed, and Fang shrugged. "And Snow, you're in charge of group 1,"

"_WHAT?"_ Ratchet protested. "But you've known her for all of 18 hours! What about me?"

"Let's take a look at your morals," Star said. "Girls, money, and rap music. I vote Snow."

Ratchet tried to protest again, but we'd already broken into groups and drifted off out the door.

As soon as the others were out of sight, I turned to Kate, Fang, and Maya. Kate was sitting quietly on a bench, Maya was perched on the end of it, and Fang was leaning against a wall. Maya was staring at the sidewalk, her mind closed. I felt like this awkwardness was fueled by me.

Finally, I couldn't take the silence anymore. "Okay, I know this is kind of awkward for all of us. I'm pretty sure, from what I can read, my flock came at a really bad time. But, we have no choice but to stay, and I want to make the best of this, and I want to help. First, though, you have to tell me what's going down."

"Fair enough," Maya shrugged. She looked around at Kate and Fang. "But you need to hear it from all of us."

So they told me everything. And I mean _everything. _Right from the very beginning. Fang told me about his family, how they lived with Jeb the scientist and how he'd left them to fend for themselves. Their quest to find their parents. Max and how she lead them. Max's mom Valencia Martinez and stepsister Ella. How Fang left and formed his own flock, supposedly for their own good. Then Maya started telling her about her short life, where she was trained to kill; her body fitted to be a finely tuned maiming machine. Her mind had been twisted in inhuman ways, just so she could have the guts to kill Max. How when she finally got a taste of the world when she replaced Max, she tried to kill her but was overpowered, and was slated for termination. How she escaped, and lived abroad (which was handy, because I was taught French, Italian, and Latin at an early development stage which according to the whitecoats was "stimulation"). Kate explained about her and Star's life and how they were given genes at bi-annual doctor's appointments and were lied to about the drugs they were taking. How they met Fang's Gang and became part of it, leaving behind their posh yet restricting lifestyles.

And in turn, I talked about my life. How I was created for one purpose: to break someone from the inside. How I was a screw up and ended up with all the degenerative features of a human. Why I was short and not skinny and had scars all over. I talked about how Dylan was taken away from us. How Cyrus escaped in a giant massacring typhoon. How I helped Fang and my flock escape.

After we were all finished, Kate began the questions.

"So… who were you made to love, anyway?" She asked, slightly naïvely.

"Isn't it obvious?" Maya said, a hint of glumness lingering in her words. "It's not rocket science…"

"No, I knew, but it's just… I thought that since Max was the leader of the flock, she'd be the only one they'd go to the trouble of making someone for."

"They made Dylan and me for two different reasons," I said. "He was made to complete Max. To be her perfect other half. I was made to break Fang. To be the perfect one for him, then slowly break his walls, which according to the whitecoats are stubbornly thick," I smirked, and he shrugged, a ghost of a smile pulling at his mouth. "Bend to their will and listen to what THEY tell me to do, and stomp all over someone's heart. As if."

"Why would they want to weaken Fang?" Maya asked.

"I'll answer in the words of Larry the Whitecoat," I cleared my throat dramatically and dropped my tone. "'It's too risky to have two groups running at once. They either unite, or die'."

"Harsh," Maya said.

"Did they, you know, make any for us?" Kate asked.

"I don't think so," I knit my eyebrows. "Maybe because you're Gen 77. There's so many of you, they haven't singled any of you out as a threat."

"But that'll change." Fang said.


	10. The Indecision

**This is the first chapter I've made from Fang's POV. It won't be the last, but they're rare. **

**R&R**

Fang's mind was a hot mess.

As they walked along the streets of LA, his conscious was abuzz with thoughts. Every time he thought of Angel, he winced. Every time he thought of Max, he got angry. Every time he thought of Dylan he got angrier. Every time he thought about the DG, he got confused. When he thought of the flock, current population 15, he got worried that something would go wrong.

That took up about 2% of his thoughts.

The other 98% was Mabyn.

This girl was made for him, but from what he knew about her she wasn't happy about it. She seemed like the kind of person who doesn't like to answer to people. She's also stubborn as a rock. Like Fang. It didn't help that she was _really _pretty, and every time she smiled it made his heart beat a little faster.

What was he THINKING? He's just met this girl, and already she's managed to infiltrate his mind, quite literally. She _was _getting better at the mind reading thing.

And then there was Max. the girl he'd always have feelings for, who hated his guts and ditched him for Wonder Boy, who according to Mabyn is actually good, which nixed all Fangs theories on him being planted there as a spy.

And then there was Maya, who had feelings for him and he didn't have the heart to tell her that he could never be in to her after being with Max. It would just hurt and confuse him more, because whatever Maya says and does, even though it's her own mind and her own personality, reminds him of the girl he once loved.

_She's better for you than Maya. _Fang was startled by a voice he knew didn't belong to his friends.

_Didn't I tell you to take a hike? _Fang thought angrily. _Besides, I don't love Maya._

_Yes you do. _It said. _Because you loved Max._

_I can't help it! _Fang gritted his teeth. _But you'd never understand. You're not even SUPPOSED TO BE IN MY HEAD._

_It's for your own good I'm here, though. _The Voice said. _Don't try changing the subject._

_You almost sounded human right there._ Fang said sarcastically.

_Max has Dylan now. _The Voice went on. _Maya can handle herself, and we're working on advances to find her a suitable mate, just in case she decides to make a flock of her own._

_I thought you wanted her terminated. _Fang said.

_The whitecoats want her terminated. _It corrected, deepening Fang's confusion.

_Okay, so you're saying I should give Mabyn a chance. _Fang said. _How do I know you're not just trying to lead me off somehow? You probably gave Max this same talk about Dylan…_

_I did. _It didn't even lie about it. _She's much happier now. And you could be too, if you'd just open yourself up to her._

_Last time I tried to open up, I lost Max._

_Yes, but Mabyn is different than Max. _The Voice came to its point. _She's open, she tells you everything, and she listens to you just as much as you listen to her. Mabyn actually pointed it out already: with you and Max, it was strictly "I speak you listen" terms. Max was so used to talking about her feelings and having you listen, that when you started opening up, she didn't know how to let you in. She didn't know a thing about you, Fang, until you opened up. She was guessing and assuming. Mabyn knows about you, because she was made for you. She knows what you're going through._

_She can't possibly know what I'm going through._

_She has it worse. _The Voice said. _Because her mother is still alive and knows what's been done to her daughter._

Fang's breath caught in his throat, and he snuck a glance at Mabyn, who was having girl-talk with Maya and Kate, laughing the whole time. For some reason Fang loved it when she laughed.

_Liar._

_I never lie. _It said. _Just ask Max._

_Max doesn't know you're in me too. _Fang thought. _And what do you mean by "her mother is alive"?_

_Have Nudge look it up. _It said. _You'd be surprised what truths you'll find out about her – and maybe even your flockmates. _


	11. The Park

**I have retracted my pride for one brief day for the premier of the Hunger Games, because my friend Teagan suggested costumes. I am SO going as Katniss, and it gives me an excuse to dress up. Maybe this book-to-movie adaptation won't be so heinous after all…**

**R&R.**

In three hours, we'd found absolutely nothing.

Fang thought we'd had a lead, but we ended up in Echo Park. A square of green in the expansive cement playground that is LA, crowned by oaks and willows and palms alike. I think, perhaps, that Kate planted us here to see everything, because I discovered that she's quite the sightseer. She ran off to go look at something, and Maya looked glad to see the color green again.

"Trees! Finally!" Maya exclaimed, jumping up and using the power of a downward thrust of her wings to get her onto a high branch. We were away from where the people were, so it was safe.

I was sitting on the ledge of a low stone wall that harbored crawling pink flowers that crept through the cracks. They were little flowers, smaller than dimes, with delicate little petals, and there were thousands of them weaving around the base of a huge hanging willow that was a spring-yellow color. The leaves hung right above my head as I twisted my fingers around a little vine of the little pink flowers.

I looked down at one which was missing a few petals.

_This is like me. _I thought. _One flower in thousands, and it's messed up. All part of the "big picture" and all that jazz… _

The big picture. Is that the reason I exist? If it wasn't for Fang, I wouldn't have a purpose for existing. If it wasn't for the flock than Fang wouldn't have a purpose for existing. If it wasn't for the whitecoats' quest for knowledge the flock wouldn't have a purpose for existing. I could go on and on until we get to God. What did I matter in all this? Was I just a little wilted flower amidst all this mess we call society?

"I take it you've never been to a park before?" I was startled by Fang, who'd appeared next to me in a ghostly manor. He looked out of place in the scenery.

"Do you have scaring people down to an art?" I shook my head.

"So I've been told," He said, smirking vaguely.

"What are we even doing out here?" I asked. "There's so many things we should be doing. Finding information, per say?"

"I'm not sure anyone wants to leave now," He chuckled. "You seem pretty content."

I shrugged. "I like it."

"Thought so," He said, looking down at her. Our gazes met, and he looked away, his face faltering.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," He shook his head. "Just thinking."

"About what?" I asked.

"Nosy, much?" He said with a crooked smile. "And wouldn't you know? You are a mind reader after all."

"Not so much lately," I tap my fingers on the terracotta brick. "My physical kinesis has gotten stronger, but my emotion reading and telepathy powers are getting weaker."

"That's weird," He said.

"Hey, guys," Kate came jogging up to us. "Not to interrupt anything important, but have either of you seen Maya?"

My ears reverberated with the shrill sound of a scream from the trees. Fang pales as I hear a deep, gruff laugh followed by powerful upward wing strokes. The trees rustle, and Fang and I are in the air immediately, tracking Maya's whereabouts. Kate pried a bench out of the ground and poised to throw it if she needed to. Vandalism? Maybe. But for the sake of needy mutants it should be legal.

"Do you see them?" I yell to Fang and Kate.

"No!" Kate yelled.

"Fang?"

Without an answer, he propelled himself forward and out of sight, in pursuit of a little dot in the distance.

_What is that moron DOING? _I thought, and shaking my head I flew after him.


	12. The Explosives

**I'M BACK! I'm so sorry I haven't updated for close to… two months? Three? Ah well, regardless of that I'm trying my best to keep on top of things now that summer is upon us. I love the reviews I've been getting! Thanks so much! Keep them coming!**

**R&R**

"Oh my God!" Snow exclaimed when we got back to the lobby. I blew a singed piece of hair out of my face as I entered, followed by Kate and Fang, who were in equal disarray. Kate was supporting Fang's weak side. "What happened?"

I'll tell you exactly what happened.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Maya almost like a sister and she's been nice to me the whole time I've been here (which, now that I'm counting, has only been one day; scary huh?), but wherever that Eraser was going, there was bound to be more. My strategy instincts were screaming: GO BACK TO THE FLOCK, MORON! GATHER YOUR NUMBERS! But alas, no, because Fang had different plans for our day. Kate ran below us, hefting the bench on her back, not breaking a sweat. I tried to slow Fang down as much as I could, i.e. running my mouth off to him in the loudest yell possible how much of a nimrod he was being.

Once we'd lost the Eraser in the distance and Maya's yells faded, I grabbed Fang's wrist and stopped him in midair. Actually, he could have kept going because he's much, much stronger than me, but I have a feeling he didn't want to go either. We descended, and when we touched the ground, Kate was still far behind us.

"Fang!" He spun around to face me, and my words caught in my throat for a moment. He looked so… mad. So genuinely hurt and, well, just finished. The scary thing? I didn't even bother trying to read his mind because everything he was thinking was on his face for the first time. I shook my head and said, "Fang… we have to stop."

"Last time we stopped, we almost lost Angel," He gritted his teeth. I couldn't see his face underneath his dark hair. "And we kind of did lose a part of her there."

"I –"

"I won't let that happen again," He said.

"Maya will be fine." I grabbed his shoulders.

"Yeah? And what if she isn't?" He demanded.

"She. Will. Be. Fine." I gathered all my courage and enunciated it to his face. "Maya is one of the strongest people I know. Probably even stronger than Max in her own ways. Angel was young and she was too easily broken. Maya knows better. Pull yourself together!"

"Guys!" Kate cried, flinging the bench away. "Are you okay? The Eraser didn't get you, did he?"

"No, you'd know it if he did," I said.

"What about Maya?" She asked, looking frantically from Fang to me and back to Fang. "She didn't…"

"He got away," Fang said simply.

"Well, how could you –" She halted for a moment, looked left to right, and said, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what…?"

There was a pause, and there was a faint, faint beeping.

"GET DOWN!" Fang yelled, grabbing Kate and I and pushing us to the ground. The beeping reached a climax, and I realized a few seconds too late that the ticking was coming from a ridged, green, egg-shaped device embedded in the bushes.

Our Eraser friend left us a little present in the form of an explosive.

Frantically, I took the remaining strength I had and threw up a shield of energy around us. A force field of sorts. Like you read earlier in this story, I just started using this power, so it wasn't a surprise that when the grenade went off and debris and shrapnel rained down on us that some of it got through. We were blasted backwards, pummeled by the force, and my force field blew out completely. I heard the screams of the people in the park around us, regular people who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I didn't have time to feel sorry for them; I was too busy running for my life as I heard another explosion.

The ground practically rocked underneath me, so the only option was the sky. I unfurled my wings – kind of clumsily because I'm not used to those pesky spur-of-the-moment takeoffs that usually come with being an avian-American – and took to the sky.

"Kate!" I called out below as I saw Kate's form dart out from behind a bench, running towards me. The explosions stopped at two; that was a good sign.

"Where's Fang?" She asked.

Oh God. Fang.

"I'll find him!" I called down to her. "Start helping these people! A few are injured!"

She nodded and turned, running towards the civilians who were in chaos.

My heart and my head were pounding as I circled the area, looking for a familiar tall, dark figure, or some sign he'd been there. Then suddenly, I saw him, sprawled out, half leaning up against a tree as if he propped himself up like that. I touched down and ran over to him, crouching next to him.

"Oh my God, Fang," I whispered, trying to staunch the blood flow from his forehead. It looked like a stray metal scrape. He was beat up pretty badly. He was groaning, but at least that told me he wasn't dead or unconscious.

"Mabyn –" He started, but he cried out again as I tried to get him upright. It seemed like he could stand, but his rib might have been cracked. Something told me he'd had worse.

"Just shut up and walk," I said.

We made it back to the hotel in one piece, which brings us to where we are now.

"Oh –" (I'm going to block that last comment out) "Fang, what did you do to yourself?" Ratchet helped Kate get Fang to the elevator. We had to take turns going up, because the whole group couldn't go up at the same time. Once we were at the room, we had to lay him down on the bed.

"Max," I said automatically. "Where is she?"

"Their group hasn't gotten back yet," Patch said.

"What did he get hit with?" Gazzy asked looking him up and down.

"Looks like a fragmenting grenade. They can do massive damage. Effective if used against a large enemy," Patch said, like she was spouting facts. Gazzy gave her a look like: _Marry me. Please. _

"There were two," I said. "Two explosions. Maya… she was taken by the Eraser who dropped them. They were timed; we didn't expect anything."

"So where did they take Maya?" Iggy asked, leaning in the doorway.

"I... I don't know," I said, defeated. "I don't know, Iggy."


	13. The Clues

**Am addicted to several songs at the moment. Don't be surprised if in the next few chapters there is a very Glee-like occurrence in which everyone breaks out singing. That would be ironic considering their current situation. **_**It's not a cry you can hear at night, it's not somebody who's seen the light, it's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah. **_**Love that song. Listening to it currently. But I guess you don't care about that, so here's the latest chapter for y'all.**

**This is a Fang POV. I know I made one only a few chapters ago, but he's all broken up for God's sake, so I'm giving him a little input. **

**R&R and tell your friends!**

Fang's hand gripped his side, wincing at the pain. His cuts had already healed, even the large gash on his forehead had closed up and the only thing that's left of it or the metal that had embedded itself carefully under his skin was a puckered pink line.

He could barely remember what happened. They were almost done resting at the park, and suddenly Maya was just… gone. Taken. Mabyn stopped him from mindlessly and blindly following Maya and the Eraser. It would have been suicide, considering now they knew he was armed. Heavily.

Yes, Eraser. Not Flyboy. Fang was sure of it.

_I see you've been thrown another curveball, _The Voice said in his mind. He gritted his teeth and raised his hand to push the hair off his forehead. _The scientists are making it harder and harder for you._

_You say it like you're not one, _Fang replied simply.

_I may be, _It said.

_So why was there an Eraser with us today and not a Flyboy?_

_Oh, that was a Flyboy, _It said. _With some minor enhancements._

Fang sat up as well as he could, because there're only so many images of the ceiling you can take without dying of boredom. A shock of pain hit him like a brick in the rib. Star had declared it broken. It would be fine in the morning, but Fang was in for a rough night. He wondered how Holden survived it, breaking things for the whitecoats every day before they got his mutation right…

_Mabyn pretty much saved your life today, Fang, you know that don't you? _It asked. _If she hadn't thrown up that shield, that piece of metal that put a gash in your forehead would have shot clean through you. _

_Don't you think I know that? _Fang said. _Besides, she saved Kate too._

_You're lucky to be alive, _It said. _Don't act irrationally. Remember this day every time you want to go around picking a fight._

_I wasn't picking a freaking fight! This is a flock member we're talking about! _Fang almost yelled that aloud, but suppressed his voice at the last second. He peered around the corner as best he could to see that he hadn't woken anyone up. To his surprise, Mabyn was awake, sitting on the edge of her bed, folding her hands as they leaned on her knees. This was only her second night away from the School, and she usually had Maya to talk to at night.

Maya. Man, that girl confused Fang almost as much as Mabyn did. He could definitely tell she was in to him. Was it just a Max thing or something in her system that was making her naturally attracted to him? Was she just being a girl and jumping at the first alpha male she saw that wasn't taken? Both those notions seemed farfetched.

_Maya shouldn't exist, _The Voice barked. _Don't start falling for her now._

_I'm not falling for her, believe me, _He gave another glance into the room and saw that max was curled up on the floor, nestled in the crook of Dylan's neck. The sight sent his emotions whirling and he found himself seething with… jealousy? Maybe. Maybe not.

It sighed. _I just don't want you thinking that with Maya you get a second chance at Max. Because you won't. Maya is a very different girl on the inside, even if she seems like the girl you always knew on the outside. Also, she may revert to her original state._

_Original state? _Fang thought._ What the hell does that mean?_

_They have the on switch, Fang, and they're not afraid to use it. Don't get too cozy with normal Maya. _It said, and was silent.

Fang shook his head in awe. On switch? What did that mean? And what did it mean by "normal Maya"? What other Maya is there?

"Psst, Fang," Fang was startled by a voice next to him. So startled that he tried to move into a defensive position, but the pain in his rib brought him back to reality. He looked over net to him and saw that it was Mabyn, who gave him a look and said, "God, Fang, calm down. It's just me."

"Oh," Fang shook his head. "Yeah, sorry. Not sleeping too well?"

"Nah. You?"

"Nope."

"Well, one does not simply sleep with a broken rib," Mabyn smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed with him. She kept her distance, though, which showed she was still unsure about Fang and her feelings towards him.

"Can I ask you something?" Fang said suddenly.

"Um… sure," Mabyn sounded unsure.

"Did you hear anything about expiration dates or maybe mind control at the School?" He asked.

"Expiration dates? Nothing beyond the genes we have that prevents it. Mind control? No, but I'm sure they accessed the means sometime during their extensive research," She said. She looked up at him and said, "Why?"

"Just… curious," He thought of a different explanation. He didn't want anyone to know he had a Voice, especially not Max. "It's something the flock has always worried about, even before the whole fifteen-man integrated-Gen-77 thing happened."

She nodded. "I couldn't possibly understand. There's so much I don't know yet, and I just hope that being around you guys will help me not only survive, but… well, live. I don't want to just get through life in one piece. I want to live it."

"That's a good goal," Hell yeah that was a good goal, because it was Fang's goal too. Only he knows so much more then Mabyn about where he's going to get to that goal. Sometimes it felt like he was talking to a five year old in a strange sense. Like earlier, before they went to sleep, Gazzy had to teach Patch about all the different kinds of music. Luckily, Mabyn stepped in to help. Apparently she was musically trained, at least in some sense.

"Like, I've always wanted to go see Broadway, and I've always wanted to fly over Paris –"

"Max knocked that one off her bucket list already, with her brother and the other half of the little flock," Fang said. "Paris, I mean. Wish I'd seen it, but I had different goals then."

"Like?"

"Not having my head torn off by a hulking psychopathic Eraser boy," He said with a small laugh. "It's weird, but he actually turned out to be nice in the end. I guess my radar was broken or something."

"Wait – Max's brother was an _Eraser!" _Mabyn exclaimed as quietly as she could.

"Shh!" Fang looked around, than beckoned her closer. They were now only about seven inches apart. He leaned over and whispered, "She doesn't talk about him too much. He died not too long ago. Expired. He was a good kid, then a raging sociopath, then just a lonely soul who just had a death sentence handed t him on a silver platter."

"That's so sad," Mabyn said. "I never had any family, and I didn't need any. Call us a bit dysfunctional, but the six of us – narrowed to four then enhanced to fifteen – were all I needed. _Are _all I need, rather."

_Maybe not, _He thought, thinking about what the Voice said about her mother still being alive and looking for her. How could she remember for so long? Is the Voice lying?

Was it so weird that he had the overwhelming to kiss her right there?

He shook the thought out of his mind. He would NOT toy with her emotions that way. Or his own, considering he was still mildly in love with Max, confused by Maya, and taken aback by Mabyn (but also extremely attracted to her). Is this all the whitecoats' doing? Still… would she even care if he did? Was she hoping he would? Why was love so hard for bird kids?

"I… I think I should go back to bed," Mabyn said. Fang hadn't even realized it, but they had subconsciously leaned closer to each other, and their faces were only a few inches apart now.

"Yeah," He said as she drew away from him and got up off the bed. Should he be sad? Relieved? "G'Night, Mabyn."

"Goodnight, Fang," She gave him a little smile over her shoulder.


	14. The Departure

**I have just read Nevermore, and I am so happy with the ending. Needless to say, my story seems to be going in a completely different direction, but I will stick to my original plan. But some major changes are to come that were defiantly induced by the actual ending of the story to make it a smidge more accurate. A smidge. Not a lot. I still have my wicked, wicked plans for my characters and their fabulous outcomes. Hope you like it anyways!**

**R&R, please!**

"What do you mean, you're leaving?" Max stared at Star incredulously.

"I mean, I'm leaving the gang. Or the flock. Or… the flang? Ah, anyway, yes." she said. She had her arms crossed, her eyes stone cold.

We'd woken up and I'd almost forgotten that Maya was gone. This was a way bigger distraction. I'd yawned and stretched, and when my vision cleared I was able to clearly see Star standing up, awake and ready, and obviously packing her few belongings quickly. I roused Patch awake, who was next to me, curled up, and others snapped awake soon when I said, "Star? What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving," She plainly stated.

And there you have it.

"Star, are you insane?" Kate cried. "You're being ridiculous."

"Oh, don't pretend you're not thinking the same thing, Kate," Star almost looked remorsefully at her best friend, who was looking at her like she'd grown another head. "This is way too dangerous. Yesterday, you almost DIED."

"Reality check, Chiquita: we've almost died on several occasions," Ratchet pointed out, slipping his headphones off his ears. "Does Paris ring a bell? Oh yeah, we almost got BLOWN UP. LAST WEEK. And you still stayed."

"Don't think I didn't plug that into the equation, street rat," Star sneered. She then strode up to Fang and poked him in the chest. "And YOU. You are nothing but trouble and that's that."

Fang said nothing, just stared at her intently, trying to figure out this change of heart. She turned to us and said, "I want to go back to my relatively normal life. I wasn't meant for thins and I know at least half of you weren't. Does anyone want to come with me?"

"Hell no, honey," Ratchet said. Gazzy shook his head, and Patch did as well.

"I'm not leaving Mabyn. Where she goes, I go," Snow said.

"Yeah, not me either," I said.

"Not in a million years," Max said, and Dylan nodded in agreement. "My normal is facing death n a daily basis. You're too cushy for that, Star."

"Me either," Iggy said.

There was silence after that, and Nudge looked conflicted. Max turned to her. "Nudge?"

She was silent, then whispered, "I'll stay."

There was more silence, then the little boy from the back stepped forward. What was his name? Holden. He went up to Star and said, almost inaudibly, "I'll go with you…"

Then something terrible happened. Another boy stepped up from the back quietly, with no word spoken, and joined Holden.

Dex.

"Dex, no," I said, but he looked at me with sad eyes, and by reading his emotions, I knew. This was what he needed. He couldn't take this any longer, even if it meant leaving Nudge. Maybe he didn't love her that way after all. Maybe it was another defect.

Whatever the reason, he would be dearly missed.

"And Kate?" Star looked broken as she looked at her friend.

"This is something you'll have to do alone, Star," Kate was crying silently but stood her ground. "I'll miss you."

They hugged stiffly, both crying now, as Star, Holden, and Dex – my Dexter – left the room and closed the door behind them with a final _click. _

Patch curled up next to me and started to cry. Dex had been our friend all of our short lives and she's been close to him, especially in age. Seeing her cry, I felt something inside me break, and soon I was crying with her. Snow came over and hugged us and surprisingly, Dylan put a hand on my shoulder. He'd known Dex too, for so long, even if he'd never let it show.

So one question lied.

What next?


End file.
